From conservation through to climate change, many APS clients are interested in supporting environmentally-focused not-for-profit organisations, but knowing how or where to start can be overwhelming. We invited four environmental philanthropists and grantmakers to share their experiences in this space.

Generously sharing their insights below are Michael Walton and Georgina Brunyee, who, inspired by a passion for the outdoors, recently established the Wild Country Environmental Fund, a giving fund in the APS Foundation. They’re joined by Jocelyn Evans, who supports environmental organisations through her family’s PAF, the Paskeville Foundation. Amanda Martin, CEO of the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network (AEGN), also shares from her experience leading a funding network of over 180 individuals and foundations focused on environmental philanthropy.

Together, here are seven things Michael, Georgina, Jocelyn, and Amanda have learnt about environmental giving.

1. It can be a great way to create and honour a legacy

“We have a shared love of the outdoors. It’s given us an appreciation of the fragility of our ecosystems, so we want to ensure the natural wonders we’ve enjoyed are preserved for those who come after us. Our giving is also a meaningful way to honour the legacy of our mothers and a special opportunity to connect with our nieces. We can teach the girls about looking after the planet and involve them in grant-making as they get older. It’s a beautiful intergenerational moment.”
– Michael Walton and Georgina Brunyee

2. With the right help, it’s not too complicated to get started

“Take the first step and you will learn and refine your funding approach as you go. There is no single approach that will solve the decline in our natural environment or climate change. In such an underfunded space, your gift will be a welcome catalyst toward the impact you want to see in the world. There are also plenty of people you can speak to for support, such as other donors, philanthropic advisers, or funding communities such as the AEGN.”
 – Amanda Martin

“We knew we wanted to put our latent wealth to good use and start that process now, not just once we were gone. We thought it would be more intimidating, but we’ve connected with the right people at the right time. The process with APS was elegant, simple and user-friendly, so it wasn’t that hard to kick it off and get going. Then it gets to the interesting stuff: where could those funds go? How long do we want it to last? What’s the right scale, and when are we ready to start learning about this? It’s been very straightforward.”
 – Michael Walton and Georgina Brunyee

3. Begin with supporting something that touches your heart

“If you’re uncertain where to begin, start with your fondest current attachments to the natural world or a particular environment, ecosystem or species you care about. Whether that’s the beach or marine ecosystems, the Australian bush or your favourite animal. Having a genuine passion for your giving will make it immediately rewarding and connect you with a like-minded giving community.”
 – Amanda Martin

4. You can form some wonderful connections

“One of our longstanding charity relationships, spanning more than 30 years, is with Bush Heritage Australia. There is something rather lovely about the people that you meet within the environmental sector. For us, a strong working relationship with a charity is based on clarity of their mission and clean, simple communications. We ask for nothing more than that. As philanthropists, our role is to keep it simple, give the funds, and get out of the way.”
 – Michael Walton and Georgina Brunyee

5. It’s easier when you find shared family values

“My passion for giving to nature and conservation came from working in outdoor education and understanding the importance of minimising our impact on the environment. As a family foundation, though, we have many interest areas. It’s been helpful to start by understanding and connecting to the family’s shared values. For example, we’ve focused on the crossover between nature, young people and mental health in Human Nature Adventure Therapy or the appeal of passion, thoughtful spending and strong leadership we mutually appreciated in Nature Conservation Margaret River. Having APS facilitate a family values conversation with us helped in this area.”
 – Jocelyn Evans

6. Consider the broader need for systems change

“While individual ecosystems will benefit from direct attention, consider taking a systems-level view for big picture, long-term change. Progress in systems and policy change at the government and industry levels can have a huge impact. Some organisations have spent the last decade learning to be as effective as possible in this area. They know the change levers and how to pull them in a way that makes a difference.”
 – Amanda Martin

7. You can do good with your investments, too

“Attending the Impact Investment Summit helped me understand how making a positive impact for the environment doesn’t have to be limited to your grant making. We are fortunate that our corpus is already working, where possible, to achieve a positive impact as well as provide a financial return. I feel there is the opportunity for corpus investment to further increase impact our across our family’s four chosen areas of focus. For me, the Impact Investment Summit also highlighted that we don’t have to wait for government to prioritise people and planet. PAFs and other private money can start making an impact right away.”
 – Jocelyn Evans

Need help with your giving?

The APS team is ready to help. Get in touch with us for support on finding your giving values, specific resources such as lists of environmental charities, or if you want to know more about giving through a PAF or giving fund.

We also recommend reading our environmental philanthropy insights paper which provides an overview of the sector and outlines four broad cause areas to consider funding, from climate through change to conservation.